Look Forward to God’s Will and Blessings

Today let’s continue with the 4th step of the Peace Plan. You have made sure you are in right standing with Christ, with yourselves, and with others. Now you can have peace with your future—both on earth and in eternity. And you can be excited about God’s will for you.

How can you possibly have peace with your future when there is so much turmoil in your past and maybe even in your present? And when the future is completely uncertain and unknown to you?

Here’s how!

When you are in right standing with God, you can have peace with your past, present, and even your future:

God is:

When you know who God is, you build your life on His Word, and you know who you are in Christ—His perfect love casts out all your fear. (1 John 4:18)

You can rest in His promises that He will never leave you and never forsake you. You can trust that He will do what He said He will do for you.

Also, you can know that He will take the most painful parts of your life and the parts of which you are most ashamed and make them into something beautiful and glorious for His kingdom and your ultimate good.

Rest in the knowledge that God’s will for you is good.

You no longer have to freak out wondering, “What is God’s will for me? Will it be bad? Will He hurt me?”

You don’t have to be anxious as you see the world in an ever-increasing mess because you know that everything is falling into place according to His plan.

Then you simply seek to trust God and be about His business of loving Him and loving others and sharing the gospel, knowing He has you in His loving hands.

You don’t have to be:

  • Afraid, worry, or freaked out. God will be with you every moment.
  • Alarmed about the future. God will direct your steps.
  • Stuck in your past. God can heal every wound and restore your soul.

You know that no matter what happens, God will:

  • Transform it into good for you—and probably, for many other people, as well.
  • Bless many others through the beauty He brings from your pain.
  • Use any pain you experience to help you grow in Christlikeness and love.
  • Set you free from bondage and harm! You don’t have to be crippled with guilt or shame.

Now you can simply wait with eager anticipation to see all the good things God will bring into your life from the painful, difficult times you experience.

Look past this short life to God’s will for your eternity

And, even more than that, you can look ahead even farther into eternity. When this short life is over, you know that you will get to live with Jesus in heaven forever because He has promised you eternal life if you received His gift of salvation by grace.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

John 14:1-3

Jesus spoke these words to the disciples in the upper room just hours before He was crucified. They all understood that these were the traditional words of a Jewish wedding proposal.

The groom would ask the bride’s father for his permission for her to marry him. Then he would say these words and go back to his father’s house to add on a bridal chamber to the home.

When his father told him it was time, he would come back (at an unannounced day and hour) for his bride.

She was to be ready and waiting for his return at any moment. Then his groomsmen would “catch her away” and lift her onto their shoulders.

They took her back to the grooms’ house where the couple spent 7 days in the bridal chamber before coming out to celebrate the marriage supper with family and friends.

Jesus, our heavenly Bride Groom, will come to get us just like that. We will either go to meet him at our death or we will be caught up in the rapture to meet him in the clouds.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Rev. 21:1-5

Then we will get our happily-ever-after with Jesus and all true followers of Christ in heaven forever!

Let’s pray that we might each be ready to meet Him at any moment and let’s anticipate all the amazing things He has in store for us here in this life to help us grow and be fruitful in Him.

Let’s also praise and thank Him for the eternal life that He has lovingly prepared for those who have received Him!

May we share this good news with everyone so they can share this great peace, joy, and eternal life with us.

The 4-Step Peace Plan

This plan is a simple pathway to show you how you can enter into the heroic life God has for you and experience real peace with God, with others (as far as it depends on you), and with yourself.

“What is God’s will for me?”

  1. Look upward—Yield your life completely to the Lordship of Jesus.
  2. Look inward—Die to your old sinful nature and put on your new nature in Christ.
  3. Look outward—Receive Jesus’ eyes and heart for others to love them with His divine love.
  4. Look forward—Watch Jesus turn your pain, trials, and difficult relationships into beauty for your ultimate good, a blessing for others, and His greatest glory. And look forward most of all to eternity in heaven with Him and everyone who loves Him forever!

The ABCs of Salvation